Probably a smart move

by Mike (bart), Thursday, May 02, 2013, 11:54 (4735 days ago) @ Jay

I haven't looked at the campus master plan, but assuming that ND (like all universities) has millions upon millions of new square footage planned it becomes a pretty tough sell to keep such a huge chunk of (increasingly) central real estate as ND Stadium tied up as a football-only venue surrounded by parking lots.

Doing so would really expose ND to financially- and community relations-problematic campus sprawl. Also, developing more uses in that part of campus is pretty essential in helping Eddy St. Commons reach its potential.

I understand the prevailing emphasis on symbolically keeping ND Stadium a cathedral to football, although personally I don't find those arguments terribly compelling. If I were sympathetic to those concerns, though, I'd eye this announcement pretty suspiciously. The odds of this feasibility study coming back with a conclusion of "Nope, we don't think there's much to be gained from developing this area" is pretty much zero.